Dare
by Rae-chan33
Summary: From the suffering you caused, now you get to suffer too, Sasuke. Except, your punishment was of your own creation. You came back to this village for him, right? But look, Sasuke, he doesn't know who you are anymore. He forgot. Everything. Even you.
1. Chapter 1

**-sigh-**

**For your enjoyment purposes. Im so irresponsible, starting on something like this before my other fics are done. BAD RAE-CHAN, BAD!**

**demo demo, this is only gonna be three chapters at the most. A three-shot. heh. **

**Then again, this is how Ame Ni Shichigatsu started, and its my most popular fic. So maybe I'll have a bit of luck with this one, ne? **

**ATTENTION: (because I refuse to use 'warning' anymore) yaoi, angst, possible spelling errors that are completely not my fault.I type too fast and get ahead of myself.**

* * *

- 

"Uchiha Sasuke, it has been decided, that due to the execution of several SS-class criminal ninja at your hands, you are allowed citizenship back in Konohagakure with limited penalties."

Dark eyes stared at the weathered, wrinkled faces of the Council members. They stood before him with more-then-pleased faces, eyes squinted shut in delight. Beside them, the false youth of the Godaime Hokage was twisted in rage. Pale lips remained even, not twisting into a smirk that was most commonly called upon them.

"And what is that punishment?" Sasuke's voice, having gotten deeper over the years, spilled into the jail-cell of a room, reverberating from cold cement walls.

"Your chakra will be sealed for no more then three weeks. You will not progress to any level higher then Gennin for a year, allowed only D and C-rank missions that will not take you beyond Fire country's borders." The ancient looking woman stated. Sasuke nodded. It was deffinately unfair, this punishment. Yet, it was Sasuke's luck that it was unfair in his favor.

"You will also have your testicles removed and every bone in your body crushed into powder-"

"Now Tsunade-hime, you know very well that you have been over vetoed due to bias in the Uchiha trial."

Sasuke glared at the blond woman who was glaring right back at him, her teeth grinding together in anger. The council members gave a slight bow to the last Uchiha, and turned to walk out of the holding cell. Tsunade was left behind, her face contorted in fury.

"Why did you come back..." it wasn't a question. The Godaime was demanding an answer. Sasuke stood up straighter and his eyes flashed in the darkness.

"I have things I need to attend to in this place. It has nothing to do with you." he replied. Tsunade scoffed.

"I hope whatever it is you have to... 'attend to', has nothing to do with _him_, either." she snapped in a tone that made Sasuke shiver involentarily. Elegant black eyebrows furrowed.

"And if I do have business with that person...?"

Tsunade smirked, her amber brown eyes filled just as much with indignant anger. She turned on her heel and moved from the room, pausing at the doorway.

" Its useless, Uchiha. Despite what the favor of the council has decided, make no mistake, you will pay dearly for your betrayal. And the punishment will be of your own creation." her voice was cold, severe, and gave Sasuke a sharp tingle across his pale flesh.

"You think so... You're obviously dillusional in your old age, Hokage-sama. Everything I came back for, the goals I have come back to rekindle in this worthless village, centers around that one person." He told her this with a face of determination. Tsunade's smirk flickered, and fell into a sad sort of smile, which caught the Uchiha by surprise.

"Go back home Uchiha. You waste your time. He stopped chasing after you for a reason. You coming back was pointless. Just try to live a seperate life. He doesn't concern you any longer." she whispered.

"I'll decide what concerns me, _Tsunade-hime."_

The older woman, suddenly looking far older then her jutsu would allow, just turned and walked away. Sasuke glared at the empty place she had been. His fingers meshed into each other, and the teleportaion jutsu carried him out of Konoha's prisons, and on to a wooden porch that creaked in protest.

The air was cold, making Sasuke wonder if his choice in clothing had been at all decided due to the hot temperatures of Otogakure. This just proved all the more that he was in fact _back _in his home village. Back in Konoha, where winter was cold, and snow would pile up in thick blanket. He was back now, in the house that used to roof his family.

Sasuke huffed and slid open the sad wooden door, the rails giving off an unpleasent, dry grating. He winced inwardly at the empty sound that echoed into the stone foyer. For a moment, the last of the Uchiha did not move from his position. He stood, staring into the house, where all his family's casual frunture had been draped in white linen. They looked like gosts hovering above the wood flooring.

Sasuke slid the door shut, turning away from his old house. He could recall now, why he had chosen to live in an apartment after the clan had been killed. Though the murders may have been brought to some sick justice when he killed his elder brother, the images of the blood that pooled upon the floors that day still stained Sasuke's eyes.

It was only natrual that the images continued to haunt him, even after he had defected to The Sound. But what had been continuousely nagging him the entire time, was the perpetual light amongst the crushing darkness that wanted to tear out the rest of his soul.

The light from bright blue eyes that can't be bothered; a flashy grin that would appear on its own accord; those eyes, those eyes that held such knowlage of the greatest lonliness, yet still were so bright.

Sasuke's lips twitched into a tight figured smirk.

"He'll get mad... that I came back on my own accord..." he whispered to himself as he shot up into the rooftops, headed towards what he recalled was the residence of the 'persistant guy' that he had at one time, dismissed on a whim.

"Naruto."

-

* * *

- 

'You say that because you have nothing. You think that because you know nothing..'

-

* * *

- 

As Sasuke fully expected, Naruto had apparently not outgrown his adoration of ramen.

While nearing the apartment complex, Sasuke had thought to check the decrepit soup-stand, thinking that it was as likely as any place in the village to find the blond. And find him he did.

The boy had surely grown just as Sasuke had, over the total of four years of absence. Yet, while Sasuke grew tall and broad chested, Naruto had grown into quite an oddity. His spikes of blond were still mostly short, a bit more messy about the bangs, but still the shimmering gold that glowed in the light from the red paper lanterns that lined the avenue. His body was older, true, and taller, deffinately, but still somewhat... small, for a man. It was slightly a shock to Sasuke, to see that not only had the blond traded in his orange garb for a dark blue and white Hakama, of all things, but he was not wearing his coveted Hitai-ate.

His eyes... Sasuke could not see from his distant perch upon the nearby rooftop, but it was as though the very vastness of the blue reached him still, and made him shiver to his bones.

Naruto was smiling in a small way, waving at someone, bidding them farewell. Sasuke flicked his eyes towards the additional company, and kept an emotionless face at the sight of his old female teammate, Haruno Sakura. She was, as always, uninteresting, having changed little since he saw her last. He simply had no opinion on her either way. However, the way she was being so friendly towards Naruto... that may or may not be a problem.

Never the less, Naruto departed from the scene, walking into the residential area of Konoha's southern side. Sasuke followed after him, hiding in the shadows high above. He tested, once, to see if the blond was just as terrible at sensing chakra as he had been. He allowed a small amount to flicker outward, gently, like a quick breath of wind. Onyx eyes flashed with a certian... incredibility.

Nothing.

Naruto didn't even sway in his casual steps.

The fluxuation was enough to put even a academy student on edge, so then why...

'Kuso... almost lost him.' Sasuke retrained his eyes on the unwitting target, hefting himself over the ledge of the building he stared down from, and landed with a soundless grace. Once again, using the cover of the darkening skyline, Sasuke watched as Naruto made his way to the apartment at the very top of the structure, just as it had been for all these years. With a smirk, the raven transported himself high up to the highest windows, and slipped inside before the blond outside could open the door.

"I'm home!"

Sasuke had to allow his lips to twitch upwards. Naruto cheerily greeted an empty apartment. It was a sad, yet... endearing act, like a child.

"Hm. I guess he hasn't come home from his mission yet. Oh well."

Sasuke stilled.

'..Who is 'he'...?'

Naruto strode into the spall space, obliviouse to Sasuke's presence not more then a few feet away from him. A slim tan hand reached out and flicked on a light, illuminating most of the apartment. It was now, Sasuke could see Naruto, and Naruto could see Sasuke, if only he were to turn and face him.

"Sorry guys, I guess I should have watered you sooner, ne? I forgot, sorry sorry!" He chippered to the house plants as he watered them. Sasuke's mind was raging, willing the blond to just. Turn. Around.

"I hope you guys were okay by yourse-"

Blue eyes connected with black in an unfocused flurry, and Naruto faced Sasuke, a flower pot sending drips of water onto the floor. Sasuke just stared, letting Naruto soak in his presence. After all, it had been several years, Naruto might not know what emotion to greet the Uchiha with. Sasuke mused. Angry? Joyful? Embaressed that the young man had gone without noticing him?

Perhaps thats why Sasuke was so confused when Naruto dropped the water canteen and backed up into his wall with fear in his eyes.

"T-take anything you want, just don't kill me!" the younger boy begged. Sasuke's brows furrowed. Did Naruto think that he was going to use that tactic to take the other by surprise and attack when he had Sasuke good and confused? Unlikely.

"What could I possibly steal from a dobe like you?" Sasuke's cool remark had humor in it, adding on to the blond's failed tricks, but Naruto's eyes held a terror that was confusing the Uchiha against his will.

"Pl-please... just don't kill me...!" he whimpered. Sasuke's frown deepened when Naruto slid down the wall, his hakama pant legs spreading out around him, making him look much smaller. Sasuke stepped towards him.

" I didn't know I changed so much that an idiot like you can't even remember my face right away." he said, staring down at the shivering teen. Naruto stared back up, his eyes watery with tears.

"Who... who are you supposed to be...?" he questioned. Sasuke scoffed. It seemed the blond dunce didn't think to imagine what Sasuke would look like after growing for a few years.

"How graceless, you forgot a name as infamouse in this village as Uchiha Sasuke." he declaired, feeling a bit snobbish in a way he had always resevered for Naruto back in the old days. However, Naruto's next shouted words made him realize that in the space between the old days and the present moment, something had gone wrong.

"I don't know any Uchiha Sasuke!!"

-----------

Slowly, from the base of his feet, a freezing cold feeling of pins and needles crawled up Sasuke's body, embracing his spine until it over took him completely. He took a few steps back, staring down at the shivering blond boy.

It was Naruto. It was. There was no mistaking him, even after the period of time between their last encounter. So then why, if it was Naruto, did he say something like that, with such conviction?

If it had just been words, then the Uchiha would have simply knocked the younger teen about the head. But... the same light that had been in the blue eyes that had secured Sasuke's soul from being crushed by an overwhelming darkness... they had dimmed into something the Uchiha could no longer recognise. Why was this happening...?

"Please... leave me alone..." Naruto pleaded in a whisper. Sasuke took another step back, his hands slightly raised.

"You don't know who I am..." he asked. Naruto glanced upward quickly before spotting Kusagi strapped across Sasuke's back, and he gave a yelp and curled up farther away.

"No! I just wanted to go to sleep! I don't have any money anyway, theres nothing here you could profit from!" he shouted. Sasuke pressed himself against the opposite wall.

Why was this happening...? What had become of Naruto...?

"Naruto..."

The blond's head shot up, looking more confused as seconds went by.

"How.. .how do you know my name..? Who are you..?" he asked. Sasuke felt a burning pressure in his chest, and he turned away, his dark eyes darting side to side while staring at the floor, trying to make sense of things. Behind him, Naruto pushed himself up the wall, still keeping his distance.

"N-now listen, my friend is going to come home any minute, so you had better watch out, 'cause hes a ninja! H-he'll kill you!" the blue eyed teen shouted threateningly. Sasuke stilled. What was that supposed to mean? What the hell was going on? Why was Naruto acting like... he forgot... everything...

Confused, angry, and with that pressured heat in his chest, Sasuke threw open the front door and didn't look back at his old teammate.

The moment he exited the small apartment, he felt an old, familiar chakra. The Uchiha stood before Naruto's front door, and slowly leaned back against it, tilting his head to lightly press against the cold wood. Sure enough, foot steps drew up beside him, and Sasuke could see a pair of sandal-clad feet stop in front of him, and then move to lean against the wall beside him.

"I heard a rumor you were back. I didn't need Tsunade-sama to tell me where she thought you'd go first. I knew you'd come here... Sasuke."

Said teen said nothing for a moment, not meeting the other man's eyes.

"So are you the one who's living with him now..." he asked, glancing from the side of his vision towards the face of Konoha's laziest nin. Nara Shikamaru rolled his eyes.

"Not me. I'm not gonna bother telling you who though, its too much of a hassle." he replied. Sasuke just snorted, turning his head away. There was a silence once again.

"Did you see him...? Talk to him?"

Sauske stilled once again.

"...Yeah."

Shikamaru nodded, and there was the sudden smell of burning tobacco and a metalic clack.

"He didn't know who you were, did he...? "

Cold, black steel bit into the flesh of Shikamaru's neck as Sasuke pressed Kusagi to the chunnin's throat, Sharingan eyes spinning in a fury.

"Why?!"

Shikamaru's eyes were wide, and his ciggerette had fallen onto the concrete floor. He had heard rumors, but only just, about Sasuke. The deadly aura that poured from him in buckets, overwhelming and suffocating. It was unnatrual, those blood red eyes, three additional curved tomoe pupils. Shikamaru always faced most life threating situations with an indifferent style, but it was the sheer conviction of agony more then just the promise of pain that riled his low seated fear.

"Whats... whats happened to him...?!"

Shikamaru calmed. Sasuke, while having left everything behind, had kept much of what could be mistaken as emotional investment, in the very person he had hurt the most. It was sad then, what would have to be said.

"The last time you and he were together, and you left again... apparently, the strain built up. Eventualy, with everything else he's had to deal with, he just let go." Sasuke lowered the katana as Shikamaru spoke, his eyes narrowing, then growing wider.

"What are you saying..." he whispered.

"Sasuke. You killed Naruto."

Blood spattered on the landing, hitting a bit of the chipped paint of the railing. Shikamaru wiped the blood from his split lip, Sasuke's fist still clenched at his side.

"Obviousely I didn't if hes right in there." the Uchiha growled.

At some point, Sasuke had said that by his hand Naruto would be killed, but in the end, he knew he never could. It wouldn't gain him anything. Itachi had said that to advance to the ability of Mangekyou Sharingan, and use Tsukiyomi,.Sasuke would have to kill his closest friend. And it was only after sparring Naruto life did the last of the Uchiha realize that even if he had killed the blond, he wouldn't gain anything. Once you begin to even think of murdering your best friend for a personal gain, their forms a space between the close relationship. If he had indeed killed Naruto, then he wouldnt deserve the friendship they had, and wouldn't recieve the Mangekyo, for in the last moments before Naruto's life left him, their friendship would break.

Shikamaru just shook his head in a tired sort of way.

"You don't get it. This is annoying..."

A pale fist twitched.

"Sasuke. That person in that room is Naruto, yeah. But, hes not the 'Naruto' you left behind to rot in the misery you had created by betraying him. That 'Naruto', died two years ago. He lost all his memories, and a person just isn't who they were before without the memories that had formed them into the people they had been. Now hes just Naruto. Because of you, the old Naruto chose to forget, and I think its better that he did." Shikamaru finished, the information making Sasuke's body feel cold and numb.

"He seems so much happier, living like he is now. It was you. The memories of you that caused him to suffer. And now its your turn to suffer."

The shadow-nin walked off, the spark of a new ciggarette flickering briefly before dissapearing along with Shikamaru. Sasuke stayed behind and stared after him.

"Naruto... "

-

* * *

-

You're the only one now... you're the only one who can save him from the darkness...

-

* * *

Anou...

..something... like... this...?

Maybe thats what I was getting at. Maaa, daijoubu ne? It will get much angstier and such once I write the next chapter. If I decide to write it. I might get killed for doing this instead of writting the next chapter for Ame Ni Shichigatsu, or perpousely ignoring Kanzen.

Hehh...heh heh...

Untill next time, Bye bye!

-Rae-chan


	2. Chapter 2

**Arigato gozaimashita!**

**So, like this idea of mine, do ya? Glad to hear its well recieved! Yokata!**

**Heres the second chapter, then!**

**think of this as a Christmas/Hanuka/Kwanzaa/whatever you'd like, gift**

**ATTENTION: This will contain yaoi, lots and lots of vengful angst, and a whirlpool of emotions. Sakura-bashing, but kinda if you tilt your head. I don't particularily worry myself over her anymore. Shes just irritating, but I wont devote any real hatred towards her anymore.**

* * *

The front door of the Uchiha mannor slammed, and if one would be standing apon a down-trodden front porch, they would be able to hear several more explosives slams and a few choice curses from inside. Sasuke, in a fit of rage, had now destroyed several of the doors and walls, his fist now shaking and bleeding while had sat apon an empty bed frame. 

After all, the very reason he had come back to this_ joke_ of a village for, had no idea who he was.

Sasuke growled deep in his throat. He had been picturing his return for months, and it always had Naruto. Every senario he had imagined, always featured the blond boy's smile, his eyes full of endless emotion that Sasuke could not express himself.

Naruto rushing to see him at the gates, calling him a bastard and attempting to engage in a fight.

Naruto seeing him standing atop the old training beams in the place they had become genin after too long apart, his big blue eyes would fill with tears while Sasuke gave an uninterested 'hn' that meant so much more.

Naruto calling out his name, writhing underneath him, panting and flushed.

But never had he even entertained the possibility that Naruto would _not_ be there, that he might _not _be waiting for him. When he set his sights on Konoha, he purged all from his mind except that golden light. Orochimaru's assasination, Itachi's death, his clan's affiliation with the Tengu, Hebi's disbanding; everything but the light that came to mind when he held the image of that one person.

He had meant to obtain that light completely, and shroud all that threatened its existance.

'_Make no mistake, you will pay for your crimes, and the punishment will be of your own creation.'_

The final Uchiha growled, deep in his throat.

Tsunade.

The Godaime had obviousely known about Naruto's... 'condition'. She had perpously left those little details out when they had thier little 'talk'. The bitch. Sasuke clenched his teeth tightly.

_'She sure as hell wasn't fucking joking around... Though this is not punishment. This is fixable. I am Uchiha Sasuke, there is nothing I cannot obtain, nothing that surpasses my reach.'_

With a smug smirk, Sasuke layed out a futon apon the floor, streaching out upon it with a langued grace. He raised his arms up, hands above his head as he visualy traced the tatoos across his forarms. He frowned a little, relizing how useless the summoning seals were now that Manda was dead. All they were now were reminders.

His eyes drifted shut, arms cusioning behind his head.

He would meet with his former team members tomorow, and sort everything out. He would properly adress the issues that needed attending in the morning. And maybe... he'd find out who exactly was the shinobi whom Naruto was currently living with.

He'd fix_ that _problem imediately.

-

* * *

_-_

_'Treating people like toys... what a cruel craftsman you are. But what if that toy does not bend to your hand?'_

_-_

* * *

- 

The morning was calm, and cold. The sun had yet to wake completely, its beams pale and soft. Birds were chattering their melodic tunes back and forth, their songs going unheard as most of the village was still sleeping.

Uchiha Sasuke, dressed in a black jounin's turtleneck and pants (he figured the weather to be far too cold to warrent his Otogakure outfit), walked calmly towards the location scribbled on a piece of paper in his pocket.

He took the forest path, trees hiding him from the view of the select villegers who were awake, thusly limiting the staring he would recieve. He knew he'd eventualy have to make some kind of appearance to Konoha, but that wasn't on his To-Do list as of this time. They'd eventualy realize he was back from gossip and such anyway.

He strolled at a lazy pace, drawing closer apon a red painted wooden bridge, where he could only make out a single other figure waiting there. He inwardly sighed.

Pink hair.

He wasn't looking forward to seeing her teary eyed image as she saw him. Then again, he didn't really care either way if she would greet him with a show of happiness, sadness, anger; whatever. She wasn't the one he had been waiting to see the reaction of.

Speaking of which...

"Sakura." He said her name with disinterest, but she spun around on her heel with a flourish, the red scarf around her neck tosseling.

"S...Sasuke...-kun...?" she wispered, eyes dialated. He huffed and looked in the opposite direction.

"Where's Naruto?"

His question made the girl flinch. Sasuke had to wonder if it was from the fact she was surprised he was still so cold towards her, becuase she was hurt he didn't inquire about her first, or becuase she knew that Naruto was not 'Naruto' anymore.

"Sasuke-kun...how long have you..? Does Tsunade-shishou know about...? Oh, Sasuke-kun...!"" Sakura pressed closed fists to her chest, her eyes begning to water. Sasuke sighed.

"Naruto still meets you here right?" he interupted her teary rant, his face composed with flashes of frustraition. The girl froze, and Sasuke turned.

"...Naruto...?" she whispered, as though in a trance. Her eyes glazed over, and she bit into her bottom lip. Sasuke sneered inwardly.

"Naruto... he usually comes around... even though..." Sakura muttered, looking at her boots. Sasuke frowned and looked past her, toward the road in from the village. Sakura glanced up, as if expecting him to say anything about where he had been, how/why he came back, whether or not his reasons for returning had anything to do with her.

"Sasuke-kun... I...I never gave up looking for you!" she suddenly shouted out. Sasuke stared ahead, away from her, for a moment. His blood pressure rose in his viens, and the Sharingan flashed across his eyes.

"So, I was mistaken then...? That was really _your _blood I sprayed all over Vally of the End, hm? That was really _your_ face I stared down at and then left laying in the rain. And that must have been _you_ I almost killed more then once on a whim, is that right? You say you never stopped looking for me, and yet every time, it was _Naruto's_ blood I spilt. Compared to his efforts, you hardly acknowlaged I had left." he turned to her slowly, eyes blazing.

Sakura shivered a little, sweating despite the cold. Sasuke felt his hand twitch in want of his katana, but he knew it was back at the Uchiha Complex. Besides, killing Sakura would just make a mess he didn't want to bother with.

"Sasuke-kun... you really... is Naruto really so important to you...?! So much that you weigh everyone acording to his example?! But you don't even care about him! You wouldn't of let what happened happen if you did!!" Sakura stomped her foot, and the small bridge shook. Sasuke's teeth clentched.

After all, his chakra was sealed, if the girl wanted to fight out her problems, he couldn't use Ninjutsu. But what she had said...

"What the fuck do you know, you _bi-!_"

"Sakura-chan!"

A cold wind carried the voice into Sasuke's ears. A melodic voice of pure innocence that made him shiver. He turned, eyes searching for that flash of yellow-blond, the bright orange, the blue eyes...

"N...Naruto...-kun..." Sakura stuttered out from behind Sasuke. The Uchiha frowned.

'_-kun?'_

"Sakura-chan, the most terrible thing happened last night! A crazy guy broke into-" Naruto's voice trailed off as he slowed down and noticed the tall raven haired teen. Sasuke stared with his 'usual' uncaring gaze, and yet, inwardly, he salivated at the site. Last night it had been dark, he'd been tired from having his chakra freshly sealed, and his mind had been hazed from excitement.

But the dim light of the morning gave him a new image, washing away his old images of that 'persistant guy' he had known.

Naruto stared openly with big cerulean eyes, his thin tan fingers tugging at his bottom lip. He was wearing yet another traditional blue and white hakama, a more masculin outfit, and yet somehow it made him look more effeminant. Sasuke turned completely as Naruto walked cautionsly foreward, his head tilted to the side in a confused manner.

"Naruto-kun, what were you saying?" Sakura asked in a voice completely different then the one she had just used with Sasuke, and she smiled sweetly as she stepped forward to greet the boy. Naruto tore his eyes away from Sasuke to smile at his female friend.

"Ah, yeah so! A guy broke into my apartment last night and tried to kill me!" The blond waved his arms around franticaly, while Sasuke rolled his eyes inwardly.

_'I didn't try to kill him... I didn't even touch him...'_

Sakura gasped for show, but glance in a knowing and accusing manner at the older teen in back of her. Naruto leaned forward to whisper into the pink haired girl's ear.

"Ne, ne, Sakura-chan, who is that guy?" the boy _tried_ to be quiet about it, but Sasuke could hear him. A sudden coldness sparked up in his chest, and he ignored it, passing it off while giving Naruto a subconciouse glare. Sakura took a breath and glanced at Sasuke again while she ...'re'-introduced him.

"Naruto-kun... this is... Uchiha Sasuke." She said it, and Sasuke watched. Naruto blinked and moved to stare at the taller boy. Every cell in Sasuke's body was at attention, his eyes searched for a sign of recognition in the twin orbs of bright blue. Suddenly, Naruto gave a little gasp, his eyes widening. Sakura looked astonished, and Sasuke waited with no patience for the loud outburst or whispered breath of the pet name 'Teme!'

"You.. you're..." Naruto took a few steps back, and Sasuke's pulse raced.

"Naruto..?" Sakura whispered in a desperate sort of testing. A tan finger pointed at Sasuke's chest.

"Its him! Hes the crazy guy who tried to kill me last night! He broke into my apartment and started asking me all these wierd questions Sakura-chan!!"

Sakura looked away and bit her lip. Sasuke clenched his fist.

"Well, Sasuke-kun is sorry about it, Naruto-kun..." Sakura waved her hand around, a smile painted flatly on her face. Naruto looked from her then back to Sasuke, who gave a short nod, and soon a smile formend on his whiskered cheeks.

"Un!"

Sasuke had to pull back when Naruto turned to him with that great grin, big blue eyes shimmering with...

...with...

nothing.

It was just as Shikamaru had said. Naruto had forgotten, and with those memories went everything that had made him 'Naruto'. But why? Why had Naruto given up on everything? Why did he forget?

"Naruto-kun, do you know where Kakashi-sensei is today?" Sakura's question brought Sasuke back to the bridge. Naruto put a finger to his lips.

"Mmm, nope. Hes not back from his mission yet."

Sasuke's head shot up.

-

* * *

_-_

_'It was the bond I had waited my whole life to make, I didn't want to ever let it go... but...'_

_-_

* * *

- 

The Chakra seals that bound violent streams of Sasuke's chakra strained as furious suspicion flared through his veins. The Uchiha snapped his head to Sakura.

"Kakashi...?" he spat the name out like a bad taste. The Medic-nin nodded.

"Hes still late all the time as always, but I guess this time hes still not back from his last mi-"

"I don't care about that. Whats he got to do with the Dobe?" Sasuke interupted fiercely. Sakura looked taken aback at the sudden hostility on such high a level. Naruto simply glanced over his shoulder from his position leaning over the railing of the bridge, his fingers outstretched trying to reach the fish swimming down in the shallow river below. He didn't register that the 'dobe' pet-name/insult was _him_, therefor didn't concern himself with it.

"Sasuke-kun, whats all this hostility for? You know what Kakashi is to Naruto-kun." Sakura said icily, as though hoping to remind him of the delicate situation.Sasuke frowned with gritted teeth.

"The shinobi training aside, what is he _now_?!" Sasuke demanded. Sakura's eyes widened, and Naruto turned around.

"Shinobi training...?" the blond inquired. Sakura hastily waved her hands.

"Ma ma, Naruto-kun, you know how Kakashi-sensei is a great ninja, ne? Well hes the one who taught me and Sasuke-kun here. He and I used to know each other a long time ago, and Kakashi-sensei was our instructor!" she informed the older boy. Naruto's frown turned into a good-natured grin.

"Souka na! So then, Sasuke-san, you really could have killed me last night if you'd wanted to!" Sasuke flinched at being adressed with '-san', when he expected '-teme' to flow so smoothly past those lips. He just gave a 'hn' and looked to the fumbling girl beside him. Sakura hesitantly met his icy glare and gulped.

"Na-Naruto-kun, since Kakashi-sensei isn't back yet, you can go ahead and go to the Academy, Iruka-sensei is probably waiting for you." she said kindly. Naruto gave anod and waved.

"Ma, I'll see you later Sakura-chan. Bye bye...Sasuke-san!" Naruto said the last farewell kind of nervously, unsure if he should really be so kind to someone who had broken into his apartment the night previous. Sasuke growled.

The apartment he must be sharing with that bastard of a teacher.

Sakura faced the direction Naruto had departed, Sasuke glaring at her back. The air was still, cold, and silent, only the rushing of the small river underfoot to fill in for unsaid words.

Sakura sighed.

"I blamed myself at first. I figured it was my fault he chose to forget..."

Sasuke looked away at the whispered wirds.

"Then I realized it was all because of you. The memories of you that caused him to suffer."

Sakura pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear and turned around. Sasuke glanced at her, uncaring of the tears gathering in her eyes. If they had been Naruto's eyes, then...

"Kakashi is living with him then?" he asked, as though he never heard her accusations. Sakura huffed.

"Yes. Kakashi-sensei has been taking care of him since he forgot, making sure that if... if 'Naruto' suddenly came back, he'd see someone he knew." she said. Sasuke glared.

"That seems so cleaver, when its said like that. I bet that pervert thinks of a ton of disgusting things when he has Naruto all alone in that apartment..." he snarled. Sakura moved to throw a punch, but decided better of it. Sasuke thought that move on her part was wise. She'd just start something should wouldn't be able to finish. So instead, he was given an esspecialy heated glare.

"If you were ever so concerned over it, you wouldn't have ever left Naruto alone to have anything disgusting done to him." she snapped. Sasuke twitched.

"I don't have to explain anything to anyone. Naruto knew why I left." he said. Sakura gave a sort of half laugh.

"Oh yeah, and a lot of good it does him _now_. Now that he's forgotten _everything_!!" she was yelling now, her calm posture changed, her shoulders braced and arms rigid. Sasuke was getting a little irritated at the tone of voice Sakura was using. Always accusations with her, not enough information.

"How do you know it was my fault anyway? What, he forgets everything except the reason why he forgot? Awful convenient that its the Uchiha's fault!" he spat with as much accusation Sakura had used against him. The pink haired girl flinched back and turned on her heel, facing away from the heated eyes that were burning into her skull.

"Because, Sasuke-_san_, I lied!" she said finaly. Sasuke frowned.

"Oh?"

Sakura's boot dug into the wooden panels of the bridge.

"Yeah. He forgot everything... except... except that he..." she bit her lip, and Sasuke felt himself go on edge.

Another sigh, and the medic's arms slumped limply at her sides.

"He forgot everything except that he loved someone with pale skin, black hair, and black eyes. That was the only image he was able to recall when we asked him." she whispered it again.

Sasuke's pupils dialated into a mass of dark grey.

_'He... loved someone... who looks like me... Naruto... loves me...? But then why didn't he react like his old self at the site of me?'_

Sakura laughed bitterly.

"Thats when we first started lying to him, hoping to make him a better life." she said, causing Sasuke to stomp foreward and force her to face him, not liking at all where she was headed.

"You knew damn well who he was talking about! What did you tell him?!" he demanded. Sakura smiled. Akind of smile that he'd expect to see from Tsunade after he'd been given what she called 'true punishment'.

"We told him the person he was thinking of was Sai, his boyfriend of three years."

And just like that, Sasuke felt the weight of Tsunade's words.

-

* * *

-

_'This time, I'll go to pick you up. This time, I'll be the one to walk you home, shielded from the rain.'_

_- _

* * *

**Well, thats it for chapter 2!**

**Im thinking about whipping up a real quick holiday oneshot later. Maybe on christmas, since after like, four o'clock, my day is pretty much free lol.**

**Hope you guys like this chapter!**

**Happy Holidays, no matter what it is you celebrate.**

**-Rae-chan **


	3. Chapter 3

**Well here I am for the third and final chapter!**

**Bout time, hm?**

**I'm happy to hear so many kind reviews, and such positive feed-back from you all!**

**There are some things you all might be confused about, like why Naruto lives with Kakashi if he was told his boyfriend was Sai. Well, I looked at it as this:**

**If Naruto lost his memories becuase of Sasuke, would you really want him remembering everything and the first person he sees is someone who looks almost just like Sasuke?**

**NO.**

**So this is the last chapter, I hope you liked this three shot of mine, and please be prepared for an emotional rollercoaster.**

**DISCLAIMER: i don't own Naruto. tch. **

**QUOTES: excerpts from various SasuNaru doujinshi and the manga Loveless  
**

**ATTENTION: You know what your getting into. **

* * *

- 

_My arms hurt. My hands hurt. They burn. From hurting the one I love most. But I can't stop myself...! _

_- _

* * *

Naruto wrapped his thin hand around a larger pale one. His tan fingers applied gental pressure, but the other hand did not reciprocate equally. 

"Sai?"

Naruto's big blue eyes searched the older boy's face, yet Sai remained expressionless. Naruto frowned. He could -and _would_ on variouse occasions- recall a face; a face with Sai's features, but this blurred visage always had a flurry of emotion flashing back and forth.

"Yes, Naruto-kun?" Sai spoke up. Naruto bit his lip and took in a deep breath.

"Well... Sai... I was wondering... would you... would you k-ki...kiss me?" the blond's face flushed a deep red, and he wouldn't meet the other's blank stare. Sai arched an eyebrow.

"If that is what you would like." was his simple reply as he bent down and pressed his lips to Naruto's.

It was almost desperately that Naruto leaned into the kiss, and yet he fell short when Sai pulled away almost immeadiately. Scared cheeks were blushed red, but Naruto stared at the other boy with a look akin to puzzelment.

"Kakashi-sensei is coming back tonight, isn't that right? If you'd like, I can intercept him on his return and have him pick you up some groceries. I recall you mentioning that you were running low." Sai said, looking away from Naruto, staring instead straight ahead. Naruto didn't say anything, just giving a small nod.

It was often like this, with Sai being so emotionless and frigid. Naurto would often wonder how exactly they had been together, as a couple, for so long. Since the blond was twelve even!

So then why did Naruto feel as though there was such distance between them.

"You know, Sai. I met someone knew today. Well, last night, but I didn't really know what was going on then." Naruto began, touching a finger to his lips in a thoughtful manner.

"Oh." Sai responded uninterestedly. Naruto continued on either way.

"A boy. He was around my age I think. His name was Uchiha Sasuke, and Sakura-chan said that I used to know him, that he was her old teammate. Hes a shinobi like you, you know!" he said. Sai turned around, suddenly looking more interested.

"So you met that guy, huh?" he asked. Naruto nodded.

"Mhm. Have I met him before Sai? I felt... I felt like I have." he answered, touching his cheek slightly. Sai studied the boy.

To be honest he held no affection for Uzumaki Naruto. He was only with him as a mission from the Hokage, and she only chose him due to his physical features that resembled Uchiha Sasuke. Sai knew ful well via a mission outline that Naruto lost his memories due to mental stress caused by Sasuke, and so he had to make sure Naruto was not caused to suffer from any recovered image of the Uchiha.

However, he had no concern for Naruto's feelings, being as he had none of his own. He had question Tsunade's decision at the time he was appointed, whether or not she really wanted _him _to act as though he had been with the blond for such a long term relationship, but the Hokage had stuck firm to her decision.

_"It seems like he'll never remember himself, but he is showing signs of remembering someone that fits Sasuke's appearance. It would be easier to just replace Sasuke's faint image in his mind with someone who looks as close to that damn Uchiha brat as possible."_

Sai hadn't really questioned the mission. As a shinobi, he couldn't really. He didn't know how to act like a 'boyfriend', so he pretty much treated Naruto like a younger sibling, and followed the orders of the blond boy as though he were his superior. However, he was frequently reprimed by Sakura to treat Naruto more tenderly, like a close friend or lover.

Like Sai could even begin to know how he'd go about doing that.

He looked sideways at his companion on the streets of konoha. Naruto was staring at the ground as they walked, his finger tugging at his lip and his eyes lost in thought. Momentarily, Sai hoped that whatever he was thinking of, did not reveal the secrets that veiled who the blond was, and would cause him the thing that would be unexcusable for the Root Anbu member.

If Sasuke's arrival caused Naruto to remember everything, then he would cause Sai to have a black mark on his record. A failed mission.

* * *

_- _

_'I just wanted to see you'. Isn't that enough? Right now, thats enough for me as well.' _

_-  
_

* * *

Sasuke felt the cold stone bite into his fingertips in the usual roughness that was to be expected of stone. He walked slowly, using measured steps through the old Uchiha complex. The buildings that were once alive with the people of Uchiha blood. 

Blood that was now just a small spot upon fallen snow. Small, true, but stood out harshly among the vast uniformity. The only thing that could melt that snow, undoubtedly, was the sun.

Sasuke's sun.

So they had told Naruto that he belonged to some man named 'Sai'. Sasuke assumed this man must have been that boy that had taken his place on team 7, the one who he had been so close to killing after the far paler boy barged into his room back when he had been with Orochimaru. That 'Sai' looked enough like him, so it was fitting. A fitting lie that covered up Naruto's ignorance of the truth.

The truth that Sasuke had ever been in his life at all.

"Nngh..." The sole surrivior of the Uchiha massacre gripped his chest. Sasuke's chest ached horribly.

He needed Naruto. He came back for him.

For _him_, nothing else. His life was directed solely at Naruto, now. No Itachi, no Uchiha prophecies, no Snake Sanin.

He now lived for Naruto, and would continue to do as such.

Naruto would have to understand that, memories or not.

_-_

* * *

_-_

_Even if you should betray me, I will forgive you. Thats what knowing is. Thats what it means to believe.__  
_

-

* * *

- 

Naruto sat at the table, the food in front of him cooling rapidly. There was a soft thud of a chair as it slid away to have Kakashi drop into it. He studied the quiet boy.

That 'Naruto'.

"Oi, you should eat that before it gets cold!" Kakashi said with cheer, nudging the young teen's plate. Naruto looked up, bewildered, before smiling and looking down at his plate. He stared at it, blinking several times. Kakashi felt his heart rate quicken.

He'd never made Naruto the dish they were eating before, though, he had seen the boy eat it several times in the years back.

"Ne, Kakashi-san. Did Na--... did he like this?" Naruto asked, smiling a little in question.

Kakashi's eyes flinched away, guilt swallowing up his mind. He couldn't meet the boy's big blue eyes.

"... yeah, he liked it, so you should eat it too." he said in a quiet voice. Naruto stared for a few seconds, before nodding a bit, and begining his meal. Kakashi didn't feel very hungry anymore.

The guilt in his chest was tearing him apart. Guilt for _so_ many things.But most of all, above all the other reasons...

Guilt because he _despised_ the small blond teenager in front of him.

He hated the persona that had taken over for Naruto. The real Uzumaki Naruto's murderer for as far as he was concerned.

And Kakashi had nothing but contempt for _himself _for hating the boy who had done nothing wrong.

He hated himself for resenting his most tortured student's last effort to save himself. Yet even still, Kakashi would often wonder, if Naruto had never dissapeared, if _'Naruto'_ had never taken his place...

How would he feel toward the old Naruto?

The one who had failed to make Sasuke stay?

The Naruto that just wasn't strong enough to keep the promise had made... how would Kakashi, everyone, how would the old Naruto feel looked upon by his own comrades with hidden malice.

"Kakashi-san? I'm done, are you not going to eat?" a soft voice broke through the silver haired man's thoughts, and he nodded at the teenager. Naruto looked concerned, giving a slight nod before taking up his full plates to wash in the sink. Kakashi stayed at the table, staring into space with his mismatched eyes.

"Ne, Kakashi-san, you never told me you had another student along with Sakura-chan. Uchiha Sasuke, right?" Naruto spoke up, looking over his shoulder with a smile.Kakashi felt his heart frost over, anger, shame, sadness tearing through his veins. He turned his head slowly to meet the smiling face of the blond who continues on with the dishes.

"...How did you know that name...?" he inquired slowly, his voice thick and heavy. His fingers gripped the edge of the table, digging into the wood. Naruto turned around and leaned against the sink, wiping his hands dry on a dish towel.

"I met him today. The other night too, he had broken into this apartment! I thought he was going to kill me, but I guess he had came to visit you maybe? It might have been my fault though, I had left the window unlocked and-..."

While Naruto continued to speak, Kakashi was far beyond him, the sound of his own blood rushing in his ears.

Sasuke was back?

Kakashi shot up from his chair, knocking it over and startling the younger of the two. Naruto's big blue eyes stared questioningly at Kakashi, and the man found he had to look at the other's forehead to keep away from those eyes.

"What did he tell you? Does the Hokage know he's here?! Did he tell you anything?!" he interrogated, finding that his anger was flickering past his control. as he strode closer to the blond. Naruto took a step back, but found himself trapped against the sink, so he instead braced his hands onto the counter top, his body tensing.

"Kakashi-san... wh-whats... whats wrong? You're mad..." he whispered. Kakashi closed his eyes tightly, his body hovering over the smaller frame.

Naruto's eyes widened and a red flush consumed his scared cheeks. He couldn't remember a time when anyone came this close to him. People always kept their distance, even the people he was told were his friends. Even Sai, who he was told was his lover of _three years, _even he never got so close to him, and this position wasn't even intimate in that way.

"...Didn't you remember anything...? When you saw him..." Kakashi's voice was low, and gave off a dangerous feeling. Naruto shivered, but tilted his head down.

"...No." he answered. And it was the truth.

He had met Uchiha Sasuke, and the only thing he could say about the older boy was that he resembled that blurry image of who he was told was Sai. And the two young men did look the same, albeit just the standard traits. Uchiha Sasuke seemed a bit more prone to fits of emotion then Sai, and he had a certian... quality about him.

_Uchiha Sasuke._..

Kakashi's breathing was ragged, his face tilted down and away from Naruto's eyes.

"Don't go near him... he'll only hurt you more... ..." he whispered. The young teen's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Kakashi-san... what do you mean?" he prodded gently. Kakashi suddenly gripped his shoulders.

"He's the one.. Sasuke... the one that took you away from us...Naruto..." the silver haired man said solemly, almost as if he wasn't talking to Naruto at all. And then, of course, Naruto realized this was because, he wasn't.

... He was talking to forgotten memories that made up 'Naruto'.

The blond felt his heart sear in agony. The pain he felt because he was 'Uzumaki Naruto', and not, '_'Uzumaki Naruto'._ And so, he suffered, for being the person he is and not the one he _was_.

But he _wanted _to be Naruto. He liked Naruto. He felt that, he and Naruto were very much similar, they had so much in common. And so, he wanted to know. He wanted to be Naruto, he wanted to be that person again.

And for that he needed answers.

"Kakashi-san..."

Kakashi looked up from the floor as tan hands cupped his cheeks, bringing his eyes to meet half-lidded blue.

"Who was Uchiha Sasuke to me?" Naruto asked. The older man shut his tired eyes.

" You and he were... You meant... nothing to him." he said, and Kakashi could already feel the ache in his chest grow. Was the answer he had given Naruto true? Had Sasuke _really _never seen Naruto in the way Naruto had seen him?

Of course he hadn't.

Sasuke had left him to die. He'd tried to kill him several times. So it could only be true that he held no emotional investment in the boy who could only gaze at him from the rift between the rivals.

Naruto studied the older man's face, visually tracing the long scar down his pale cheek. He could do nothing but believe that what Kakashi had said was true.

"Okay Kakashi-san. I think I'll go to bed now." the blond said. Kakashi could only give a slight nod, feeling his face released from the small warm hands.

The Jounin remained staring at the floor, even after he heard Naruto's bedroom door open and close gently. Then he was left in the apartment, smelling the cold winter air from the open window.

-

* * *

- 

_'He acts like nothings wrong and may look like he does it easily, but... in a world where one can easily sway off another's path...' _

-

* * *

- 

Naruto stared up at the ceiling, willing his eyes to close.

He was tired, but couldn't get his body to relax into slumber. It was an irritating feeling, yet not unfamiliar. He had many nights like this where his mind was too busy to rest. He hated it, true, but he was also enraptured by his own thoughts; thoughts that seemed to come from other places he never really dwelled on during the day or around his friends.

Though now they were on Uchiha Sasuke.

Ever since that man showed up, people had suddenly become uneasy around him. They always held him in some fashion of fragility, but now it seemed rather severe.

The others wouldn't tell him, of course, anything about Sasukes ties with him, and he woulnd't want to ask them to. The group of his close friends would often grow quiet and dismissive if the subject of Naruto's memories or past life had ever been brought up.

"Sasuke..." Naruto voiced the name aloud, testing it on his tongue. He couldn't tell anything from it. It didn't spark anything, he didn't receive a flood of images, save the blurry one of Sai he'd been having a while back.

And so, why did people walk on eggshells around him when this Sasuke was concerned?

_'Hes the one who took you away from us...Naruto...'_

But Naruto wasn't sure if he should account this to anything between he and Sasuke. After all, Kakashi had used the name 'Naruto'. That much alone surprised the blond.

Kakashi never called him 'Naruto', always finding ways of not using it, or not saying it in conversation. Because, after all, in the Jounin's mind, he _wasn't _Naruto. And the boy supposed he had a point.

With the idea of these things, it suddenly occured to Naruto who exactly could provide all the information he needed. He didn't really know where to _find _this person, but was going to trust on his luck, and maybe he'd run into someone who knew where the man was.

After all, how hard would it be to find Uchiha Sasuke?

-

* * *

- 

_If you really want to protect a secret, you can't even say 'I've got a secret'. A real secret doesn't exist._

_-_

* * *

_-_

Sasuke wound his way through the off-road trails, the ones thick with trees growing on either side of the path. These paths that were usually used by either ninja who felt like walking on ground rather then jump roof-tops, and a few farmers from the fields back a ways.

Fortunately, one of the paths that lead directly to the huge gates that surrounded the Uchiha complex was still there (albeit overgrown and hard to see this time of night). And so Sasuke walked back to one of the smaller houses he had chosen to reside in, his steps slow and measured. He was tired, after all, not used to having his chakra sealed away for extended time.

As he approached the main gates, he froze.

Naruto stood staring at the Uchiha name written above the painted clan symbol, his big blue eyes narrowed as he frowned. He was wearing a thick scarf around his neck, his chin covered just a bit to make it look as though he was being swallowed up. The hakama he seemed to suddenly prefer wearing was covered with a thick black haori jacket.

There was no more orange.

"Oi." Sasuke stepped forward, startling the blond boy badly as he whipped around, his breath escaping in clouds of white mist. He blinked at Sasuke, before giving a sheepish sort of smile.

"Ah, Uchiha-san! I'm glad I found you!" he said, walking closer to the raven haired boy, giving a polite bow. Sasule frowned a bit, moving to walk back into the complex, waving his hand to signal it was okay for Naruto to follow.

"Was there something you needed?" he inquired coldly, though he hadn't really known any other tone to use in this situation. Having the object of his thoughts just feet away from him, alone, no one keeping a watchful eye on him.

Naruto was quiet as he walked behind the taller boy, and he fumbled with his gloved hands.

"Well, Uchiha-san, I was wondering if you and I could talk about something..." he said, as though he wasn't quite certian how tophrase his answer. Sasuke gave a nod, turning a small fork in the road and walking up to the porch of his residence. Naruto paused at the foyer, unsure if he should go in or not.

"We can talk, come in." Sasuke said as he removed his sandals.

"Ah, thanks." Naruto muttered as he removed his zori from his tabi socked feet.

The blond made no move to go any further into the house then he already had, and so Sasuke leaned against the doorway. There was a deep silence between them, and Sasuke was growing uncomfortable.

"Well? What is it." he said. Naruto looked up and met eyes with the older boy.

"Uchiha-san... have we really met before?"

Internally, Sasuke would have chosen then to start smirking. He knew that Naruto would gradualy gain back the knowlage of him. The memories just needed his face to be triggered.

"We have. We were team mates." the Uchiha supplied. Naruto's eyebrows furrowed.

"Team mates? I don't understand..." he said, shaking his head a bit. Sasuke huffed. Naruto was going to remember all this anyway, there was no harm in explaining everything to him. Then, Naruto would be back. _His _Naruto

Not Sai's. Not Kakashi's. Not the villages. Not anyone else's.

He could give a fuck if the whole ninja community was trying to protect the secret that was Naruto's right to know. The secret of who he really is.

"Ninja Naruto. We were on the same team under Kakashi. Sakura knows too." he said, frowning a bit at the look of shock that twisted onto the blond's face. Naruto's eyes were wide, his mouth open a sliver.

"Nnn... no, thats not right..." he said. Sasuke sighed.

"No, its how things really are. You and I were on team 7, with Haruno Sakura and Hatake Kakashi. You're specialty technique was Kage bunshin no jutsu. You always wore that bright orange jumpsuit, and was really annoying." he said blankly. Naruto's clasped hands fell to either side of his body. He stared at the calm boy before him.

"...'Naruto' was... a shinobi...?" he whispered in shock. Sasuke glared.

"_You _were a shinobi, yes. I guess when you misplaced your memories, the hokage and everyone else you used to know made a new life for you, so living could be easier." he spat out begrudgenly. Naruto whipped his head up.

"Why...? Why would they need to... to make my life different?! Why weren't things okay the way they were before?!" he was slowly becoming irrational now; hysterical. Sasuke felt a tightening in his chest.

Why _had _they all decided to change Naruto's life? Shikamaru had said that it was because of the pain _he_ had caused his younger counterpart. That it was all due to the mental suffering Sasuke himself caused Naruto to go through; the torture.

"I'm... not sure. But it was probably because of... me." Sasuke said quietly, looking down at his feet. Naruto said nothing, just stared quizzically.

"...Because... of you?" he repeated. Sasuke looked to the side.

"We were best friends... but I needed to get revenge on my br--... on a certian man. So I left." he said. Naruto took a step forward.

"Left?"

"You tried to stop me, more then once... " Sasuke felt his voice getting quieter, more hesitant. He hated telling the truth, esspecially when it would be so easy to lie to Naruto in his condition. But of course, this state was just temporary, and if he lied, then Naruto would find out once he got his memories back.

Naruto had a sort of glazed over look in his eyes, and his hand searched for a wall to brace himself against.

"But I don't understand... you were his friend...Had Naruto done something to make you hate him?" he asked. Sasuke flinched.

"No."

Confused blue eyes just couldn't comprehend.

"Then... why leave if we were friends? Was being friends not enough?"

Sasuke froze at Naruto's words. They were obviously meant in innocence, but for Sasuke, who had been obsessed over that perfect body writhing around under him for more then he cared to recall back to, the words were dangerous invitations.

"No, Naruto, being friends was not enough. I wanted more then that. We both wanted more." While he was saying this, Sasuke was stepping foreward, closer and closer to the confused boy.

"I _still _want more." he shispered into the shell of Naruto's ear, tilting his tan chin up with his finger. Naruto tried to pull away, but the wall of the foyer prevented his retreat.

"Uchiha-san...!" his voice was as panicked as the heart beating in his chest. Sasuke glared.

"You call me 'Sasuke'." he ordered, and loved the rush it gave him to do so. Naruto gulped and shook his head.

"We only just met, it impoli-

"Shut up!" Sasuke's harsh bark cut the blond off, and he gasped in surprise. Sasuke simmered down, his glare turning slowly into a smirk once more as he slithered his body closer against his old teammates.

"Now Naruto, if you wont _listen_ to me, then I'll have to make you _feel_ it, wont I?" he murmered, relishing in the feel of his body pressed so perfectly against the smaller physique. Naruto shuddered, his face heating up in a bright blush.

Naruto had to say, that Sasuke was the most beautiful man he'd ever seen. His body was so strong, and he seemed to abhor lying. Yet maybe it was because he was giving Naruto an intimacy he'd never felt before, and had secretly yearned for, that he was more eager to allow this to continue.

Sasuke leaned in and pressed his lips against Naruto's quivering ones, meshing them together firmly. Naruto's entire body heated up, and his nails scratched the wall for something to hold on to as Sasuke kissed him passionately. He, being inexperienced about this sort of thing, tried his best to respond, but it seemed too embarrassing for him. Sasuke pulled away, smirking, and then attacking Naruto's neck with equal fervor.

And, truth be told, despite how horribly embarrassed and still mildly confused by the whole situation was, Naruto wanted this to carry on. That was, untill he heard Sasuke's heated mutter against his abused neck.

"...Naruto..."

The blood that had been pumping so fast through the blond's veins seemed to almost still. Right then, more then any other time...

Naruto wished he was 'Naruto'

He wished that he and the boy who's name had slipped so beautifully out of such a man's most talented mouth could be his name. But Uchiha Sasuke was not refering to him. He was refering to a broken memory. And, apparently, the very memory Sasuke himself was responsible for breaking in the first place.

Tan hands pushed against Sasuke in a bout of strength that Naruto hadn't known he could possess. The Uchiha stumbled backwards, baffled at the sudden rejection. Naruto panted, his face turned down to the floor.

"Naruto...?" Sasuke began, but said boy shook his head.

"The Naruto you want... is gone. You know that..." he said in a sad, tiny voice. Sasuke frowned.

"You're right here, right in front of me. Our ages may have changed, but we're still the same people." he said. Naruto paused and slowly turned his shaded blue eyes on the taller boy a few feet away from him. His slim shoulders went back and he stood up a little straighter.

"You could say as much for yourself, but if that was the case... you'd just end up hurting 'Naruto' again, wouldn't you?"

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction, and he stood with his mouth agape.

-

* * *

- 

_'Please don't forget. Any day, we'll cherish each other_. _Our hearts are connected even when we are absent from each other's side. Always, always.'_

_-_

* * *

_-_

Sasuke's heart thudded in his ears.

This wasn't how this meeting was supposed to go. Naruto wasn't supposed to be thinking along these lines. He wasn't supposed to take into account the hurt Sasuke had put the old Naruto through.

"I wouldn't..." he said, giving his head a small twist that would be taken as shaking it in a negative response.

Naruto seemed to be gathering more and more intrepidity (albeit in a resigned, sad sort of way). The younger boy pulled away from the wall, his eyes never leaving Sasuke. The raven haired young man really wished they would too, because they were far too intense for him.

"But you would. You can even hurt the memory of that person. You would have _me_, even though I am not the one you love." he said. Sasuke stood up stock straight.

Love... Did he love Naruto?

Of course.

Why else would he go through so much just ot come back to him. Why else did it hurt so deeply when the blue eyes he had imagined had filled with tears after having not seen him in so long, and hurt even deeper then that when the one he longed for had denied knowing of his existance.

"You are. Naruto... I do love you." he said, surprised at how sure his voice was. But unfortunately, his words only caused a pained look in large blue eyes.

"You may love Naruto, but that person you love is gone. He's gone because he loved you so much!" Naruto shouted, closing his eyes tightly. Sasuke felt yet another pang in his chest.

"Damnit, _you're_ Naruto! It doesn't matter if you've forgotten it, _I _know who you are!" he shouted right back, rushing foreward and slamming his palms on either side of the younger boy's head, trapping him against the wall. Naruto glared.

"So thats it? You think, 'as long as the body looks the same', huh?'" the blond's voice was quite, but laced with accusation. Sasuke glared right back.

"You just wanted to touch this body, right? You didn't care about how much 'Naruto' must have loved you. How much he must have thought about you every day after you left him all alone. You didn't care that being without you caused him to suffer so greatly that the only way to escape the pain and still live was to forget _everything_!!"

Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes as Naruto ended his rant. Yet even still, he held a strong face and wouldnt let them fall. Sasuke's glare softened, and he looked away.

There it was again.

He had always known that he was being selfish. That his whole strive for revenge was self-certered, and he saw the people he met along the way as nothing more then dissposable. Yet out of all those he _had_ met, in th end he supposed that in his mind, no one was more like a toy to him then Naruto.

Naruto would be his friend.

Naruto would be the one he could kill to get the Mangekyo.

Naruto he could leave and treat like trash, but it wouldn't matter, becuase Naruto would always be around.

"What happened back then doesn't matter. All that matters now is that we're together again. Naruto... did you really love me? Do you still love me now? You remembered me, didn't you?" Sasuke closed his eyes, leaning down, he pressed his brow against Naruto's. Naruto's eyebrows furrowed. he gently shook his head.

"We've gone over this before..." he whispered. Sasuke pulled away and placed his hands on Naruto's scarred cheeks.

"But you did. You remembered me. Sakura and the others told you that it was Sai, that _he_ was your... your lover or whatever. But it was me. You remember me. You do. And you'll remember how much you love me too." the grip Sasuke had on the tan face in front on him tightened. Naruto winced, his eyes glazed over.

"But... all this time... Sai has been with me.. why would he go along with it, why would he kiss me, be with me, if it was never him?" he pleaded aloud to himself. Sasuke grinted his teeth at the mention of a shared kiss.

"Sai is a shinobi. He does what he is ordered to do. They ordered him to go along with the lie that kept you from remembering me. But now we can be together... I'm here Naruto. I'm here now." Sasuke breathed into the tense air. Naruto's eyes slackened, and turned downward. Sasuke released his palms from scarred cheeks, and he backed away to give the blond space.

Naruto slowly met the wanting stare of those dark eyes.

"So..."

Blue eyes looked away, and pale pink lips formed a small smile.

"You can now be with the one you love, because it is at your conveniance...?"

Sasuke stilled. His body tingled, and his heart was tight in his chest.

"Because you finaly realized your love for him, you think now you and he can be together. But what about when _he_ loved you? What about when he was suffering for you? What about when he was in so much agony over the memory of you, that he destroyed himself just to live. Why couldn't you be with him when it was possible? Why couldn't you save him? "

And Sasuke was so still, he could only stare straight ahead as Naruto moved away from him, bent down to pull on his zori, and then paused at the door.

The foyer was dark, the moon outside illuminated things with a silver glow. The air was cold, the beginings of snow falling here and there. Naruto stood, smiling while looking away.

"For the suffering you caused, now you get to suffer too, Sasuke. Except, your punishment was of your own creation. You came back to this village for him, right? But look, Sasuke, he doesn't even know who you are anymore. He forgot. Everything. Even you."

Because Naruto knew. He knew that Sasuke could be satisfied with just him. But Sasuke was not Naruto's to have. Sasuke belonged to _Naruto._ Not him.

"I will live my life, Uchiha-san, this life that your Naruto gave me. And you will live yours." The blond said, moving to step onto the dark proch. Sasuke watched at his door step, still so frozen. Naruto turned a bit, his smile suddenly looking too familiar on that face.

"Naruto...?" Sasuke whispered pleadingly. Naruto shook his head.

"Naruto had to be alone with his love for you. I think... as an Avenger, you would understand that I shall now return the favor." he said, before begining to walk back, the silver light of the moon illuminating the hallo of gold around his head, the folds of his hakama pants flowing with each step he took through the lightly falling snow.

Sasuke was left gripping his door frame, his breathing deep and frantic. There was a solid thud as he fell to his knees. His hands shook, and slowly he raised them to his face, hiding it as his shoulders begining to shake.

Now, more then any time before...

He wished that had been Naruto.

And he wished he had realized what he had when it was staring at him longingly so long ago... those eyes that would live only in his memories..

-

* * *

- 

_Hey... I really love you._

_-_

* * *

**-**

**Owari**

**-**

* * *

**-Rae-chan **


End file.
